Now, on the other hand... On only the second night of my staying here, I, out on the back patio overlooking said "garden" at 1 a.m. smoking a cig, caught a big ol' RAT about to scamper down the rubber tree that stretched as high as the roof. (He was about to plop onto the patio, but he saw me and ran the heck back up to the roof.) The night before, I'd seen a tremendous cockroach scurrying around out there. And a couple of geckos. During the day, there are plenty of ants and doodlebugs.

Where are the banners celebrating the TRUE inhabitants of gardens?? :) If I were a seamstress and artist, it would be funny to slip a surreptitious "Garden FIENDS" banner over the "Friends" one... with "avatars" for rats, cockroaches, geckos, doodlebugs, and ants instead of the stereotypically cheery homespun thingies! :)